April 28, 2011
5 pm - 8 pm Green Drinks Reception Hosted by the Berks Conservancy
Buy Local - Buy Berks Expo
April 29, 2011
8 am - 4 pm Berks Sustainability Conference
Buy Local - Buy Berks Expo
8 am - 9 am BREAKFAST KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Franco Lodato has a Master of Science in Industrial Design from the European Institute of Design in Milan, Italy. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design in Caracas, Venezuela. He has worked for DuPont in Italy, in Pininfarina (automobile designer), Herman Miller Inc., Motorola, and Gillette. Franco is currently leading cell phone design initiatives for Motorola.
He created, developed, and patented innovations in Gillette's renowned wet shaving systems for men and women that evolved into the very successful Mach 3 and Venus product lines.
12 pm - 1:30 pm LUNCHEON KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Professor James Freihaut will show some of the cutting edge technologies that will be utilized in the demonstration project. His goal is to create a smart building that can be replicated at low cost for a mass market. The goal is to develop technology that will pay for itself within five years, cutting energy costs by at least 50 percent.
Penn State received the largest grant in its history - $129 million total - to research how to make buildings more energy-efficient. The focus of the initial research will be the renovation of Building 661 - a 38,000 square foot structure built in 1942 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Part of that task will involve making sure the structure serves as a demonstration area for new technologies. While Penn State is the lead on the project, partners include 11 universities and five corporations.
The Navy shipyard site is ideal for experimentation because it has its own power grid. Freihaut will share some of the technologies including "dynamic facades" that interact with the environment, new high tech materials that will remove humidity from the air, electrically manipulated window glass to leverage natural lighting, phase changing materials as insulators, and others. Some of the technologies are already part of smart buildings while others are in the concept stage.
An often quoted definition of sustainability is "the capacity to endure". The global sustainability movement is real and will have significant impact on everyone. Changing consumer tastes and expectations, coupled with political realities warrant that we make every effort to understand the impact of sustainability on our lives and our businesses. Sustainable business practices can ultimately have a positive impact on our community, our lives and our bottom line. Join us for this power packed day to learn and be inspired by the speakers, instructors and presenters for the inaugural Berks Sustainability Conference.